


Remembering to Feel

by OneTrueCombo



Category: Skullgirls
Genre: Action, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-03-21 08:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13737144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneTrueCombo/pseuds/OneTrueCombo
Summary: A Filia x Painwheel/Carol Skullgirls fic, set immediately after Painwheel's Story Mode ending.Without a home or a purpose, can Carol find happiness?  Can Filia repair their lost friendship?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I wrote, and was originally posted as a one-shot on fanfiction.net. After some positive responses, I decided to expand the work into multiple chapters. Atm, I am planning on doing 3-4 chapters, two of which are already completed.
> 
> This story begins immediately after Painwheel's Story Mode ending. Painwheel/Carol has broken free of Brain Drain's control, killed Marie and destroyed the Skull Heart. It is assumed that Carol and Filia met and fought briefly and that Filia's memories of Carol were awakened (as in Filia's Story Mode) but that neither Carol nor Filia were seriously injured during the fight.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this! Please, feel free to share any comments or thoughts you have. I greatly appreciate constructive criticism, and I also greatly appreciate knowing that readers enjoy my work.

The night air was cold against Carol’s bare arms and legs. Brain Drain loomed over her, his metallic figure blotting out the full moon, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.  


“Painwheel,” he said. “Return to Lab 0… we have much to discuss.”  


For a moment, Carol didn’t move. She had no home anymore, and with the Skull Heart destroyed, no sense of purpose… but if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that she would never let herself be used by this metal monster again.  


“Do you really think you can control me?” Her eyes gleamed red with fury through the holes in her mask. “The truth is… you’re next!”  
With a howl of rage, Carol leapt towards Brain Drain, the blades of her Buer Drive whirring and gleaming in the moonlight. Brain Drain’s eyes widened a moment, then he leapt back out of reach. Suddenly, flames burst to life from beneath his boots, and he rocketed into the air.  


“Valentine was right,” Brain Drain sighed. “Your control protocols have been shattered. I didn’t believe it was possible, but in this state, you’re useless to us.”  


“Useless?” Carol growled. “I’ll make you wish you never even tried to use me!”  


The muscles of her arm writhed and bulged, and a barrage of spikes shot from her skin like a hail of arrows. Brain Drain swerved in the air to evade the barrage, but a stray spike struck his shoulder and lodged in the joint with a steely clang.  


Irritated, Brain Drain pulled the spike from his shoulder and tossed it aside. “There’s nothing to be gained from this petty brawl. I’ll return when I’ve devised a method of fixing you.”  


Brain Drain turned his back to Carol and began to fly off. The Buer Drive spun furiously and carried Carol into the air like a propeller, but Brain Drain soon outpaced her and vanished into the night sky.  


Carol landed on the side-walk, and her blades slowed and ceased to spin. Her breath rattled through her mask. Her rage at Brain Drain had pulled her from her depression, but only for a moment. She could have continued her flight, she considered, back to Lab 0 in pursuit of Brain Drain, but she knew that the coward would not be waiting there when she arrived. He would not come out of hiding until he was certain he held the advantage. Until then…  


Carol didn’t know what she would do until then, or what she would do after, either. As Painwheel, she’d never stopped to consider the ends met by her fury. She’d never had the freedom to, or the clarity. Only now could she question what she would do if she succeeded in her vengeance.  


A new kind of pain crept over her, hungry and cold. Loneliness. She had no home now, no friends, not even someone she could talk to. Moisture beaded in her eyes. Not even her parents would speak to her now, the people she had thought loved her most. She hung her head. A quiet sob escaped her mouth, muffled by her mask.  


Suddenly, she realized someone was approaching her from behind. Her sorrow instantly staunched, she whirled towards the stranger and growled, on all fours, the Buer Drive poised over her head like the fangs of a viper, ready to strike.  


Filia blinked and stepped back, her eyes wide and fearful. “Carol? Carol, do you remember me?”  


Carol paused, and the Buer Drive dipped lower. “…Why are you here?”  


Sampson twitched anxiously on Filia’s scalp. “I told you before kid, this is a bad idea.”  


Filia’s expression became more resolute. “I’m not giving up on this, Sampson. Not yet.”  


Carol bared her teeth. “Tell me why you’re here! After what you’ve done to me, what makes you think I’d want to talk to you again?”  


“I’m sorry,” Filia stammered, on the brink of tears. “I don’t remember what it was I did to you, but I know we were friends once. I’ll probably never make it up to you, but… I’m lost, Carol. I have no idea who I am.”  


Carol sighed, and her voice softened. “You’re not the only one who’s lost, Filia. I’ve been Painwheel for so long, I can hardly remember who I was before.”  


Filia paused. “What was it I did to you?”  


A memory surfaced, dull and foggy through the haze of Carol’s past rage and pain…  


“It doesn’t matter,” Carol said. “I just want my friend back.”  


Slowly, her motions stiff and awkward, Carol stood up straight and spread open her arms. Filia smiled, stepped forward and hugged her. For nearly a full minute, they embraced in silence.  


“It’s good to see you again, Carol,” said Filia, choking back tears.  


“Uh huh,” Sampson grumbled, rolling his eyes. “This is all real sweet and all, but did you forget the bit where this girl tried to make lawn-trimmings out of you a few hours ago?”  


Filia let go, frowning. “Carol wasn’t trying to hurt us. She was holding back. Couldn’t you feel that?”  


Carol looked at her feet. “Brain Drain had me under his control. I was so angry, constantly fighting his will, fighting for my freedom, and when I saw you and remembered what you did—” she broke off. “I lashed out, Filia. I could have killed you.”  


“Not likely,” Sampson huffed.  


“It’s alright, Carol,” said Filia. “We’re past that now.”  


Carol’s feet ached, and her stomach growled. “Could we go get some food? I’m getting hungry, and I’d like to rest a while. Somewhere quiet would be nice.”  


Filia smiled. “I know just the place. There’s a little burger restaurant down the street. They’re usually not very busy, but the food is very good, and they’re not very pricey either.”  
* * *  


A few minutes later, Filia had led Carol to the restaurant. Filia wore a white hat, covering Samson. Carol had gotten some funny looks from the owner, but apparently, being accompanied by Filia was enough to reassure him. That, or he simply too afraid to say anything. It was good enough for Carol, either way. There were no other customers there that late at night, and no music playing in that restaurant. Aside from the faint hum of the neon lights, the sizzle of the grill and the engine sound of an occasional passing car, the restaurant was silent.  


Carol and Filia sat in the corner booth. When the waiter came, Filia set down her menu, looked up and smiled.  


“A number three with a large fry, please. Oh, and a Diet Coke.”  


“Certainly!” The waiter scribbled down Filia’s order, then paused, his eyes slowly drifting across the spikes in Carol’s shoulders and the blades of the Buer Drive. “And,” he stammered, “for your friend?”  


Carol tapped the menu thoughtfully. “A double cheeseburger,” she rasped. “No onions, please.”  


“Right away, ma’am.”  


The waiter walked off, a little too fast, like a mouse ducking out of sight. It hurt Carol a little, but Filia didn’t seem to notice.  


“Thanks for bringing me here, Filia. It’s been a long time since I got to do something this normal.”  


Filia’s smile finally faded. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you, Carol? If you want to talk about it…”  


Carol sighed. “That’s probably for the best. I don’t remember everything, but I remember an operating table. Bright lights. Scalpels. Some kind of blood transfusions. They told me my purpose was to find and destroy the Skullgirl. There was someone called Brain Drain, a cyborg. I didn’t see him often, but his voice was always there, drowning out my thoughts. Every moment, I fought and raged against him, fought to push him out and take my mind back. I didn’t really think I’d ever beat him, but I refused to give up.”  


Filia smiled, slightly embarassed. “That’s pretty impressive, actually. I don’t know if I could have been that strong.”  


Sampson’s voice came from under Filia’s hat, low and muffled. “Hold up a sec. Did you just say something about finding the Skullgirl?”  


“That’s right,” said Carol. “And after I broke free of Brain Drain, I found her.”  


Suddenly, a pair of black tendrils lifted the hat and Sampson’s yellow eyes gleamed out from under the brim. “The Skull Heart… where is it?”  


“I destroyed it.”  


Filia gasped, and Sampson growled and ground his teeth.  


Carol tilted her head, puzzled. “Wait, you were trying to find it?”  


“Sampson and I had been looking for a way to restore my memories,” Filia explained. “We hoped the Skullheart might be the secret to remembering.”  


“Guess that’s a wash now,” Sampson grumbled, tucking back under the hat.  


“It’s probably for the best,” said Carol. “I overheard a few conversations back at Lab 0, and everyone there seems convinced that the Skullheart was nothing but a force of destruction. I don’t think anyone has ever wished on the heart without becoming a Skullgirl.”  


Filia paused, thinking. “I’ll never really know who I was before, will I? I guess I’ve just got to figure out who I’m going to be.”  


“You’re not alone in that,” said Carol. “I don’t know where I’m going just yet, but I know I can’t go back.”  


Her gaze lingered on FIlia’s face, her large, expressive eyes and her smooth skin. Filia met her eyes and didn’t look away, but after a moment, she gave a sheepish smile.  


“Uh… Carol? Are you going to take that mask off?”  


Carol suddenly put a hand on her mask, as if she’d worn it so long she’d forgotten it was there. “I—” she stammered and broke off. “Filia, you have to understand that, those operations, the things they did… I don’t think you really want to see what’s under here.”  


“Come on, I don’t expect you to try to eat with that thing on,” Filia joked.  


“You’re sure about this?”  


“I’m sure.”  


Carol gripped the mask, paused a moment, then pulled it off quickly, as if she was ripping off a bandage. Filia looked on without flinching, her expression slightly surprised. Scars formed an X across Carol’s face and marked the top edge of her forehead. Her eyes were slightly dark and tired, as if sleep-deprived. Her expression was blank, waiting.  


“Well? How do I look?”  


“Uh…” Filia giggled. “Kinda cute, actually.”  


Carol frowned. “You’re making fun of me.”  


“No, really, I’m not. It’s just funny… even with those scars, you look just like I remember. Well, what I can remember. It’s not all clear to me, but we spent a lot of time together, didn’t we?”  


“Yeah.” The slightest hint of a smile played on Carol’s lips. “We did. You were the best friend I had.” She chuckled. “I guess that much hasn’t changed.”  


The waiter arrived and laid their plates on the table. “Eat up!” He seemed more relaxed now, perhaps because he could see Carol’s face.  


“Thank you,” said Carol, the harsh edge beginning to slip from her voice.  


“Thanks a lot!” Filia chimed in.  


Carol waited and let Filia take the first bite. The scent of the burgers rolled up over her, warm and comforting. Carol took a small bite, and her eyes watered. She chewed quietly and swallowed.  
Filia looked up from her burger. “Carol? Are you okay?”  


“That’s good,” Carol said, trembling, on the verge of tears. “It’s really good.”  


“Are you… crying?”  


“At Lab 0, everything they gave me tasted like hospital food. I never got to eat anything like this. I never knew,” she said, her voice cracking as she began to cry, “how much I could miss just feeling normal.”  


Sobbing, she set the burger down, rested her hands on the table and lowered her head. Filia took Carol’s hand.  


“It’ll be alright, Carol. Really, it will. We’ve got each other now.”  


Carol wiped her eyes, sniffing. “When I tried to go back home, my parents didn’t even recognize me, but somehow, you did. Even under my mask, you knew who I was.”  


Abruptly, Filia leaned across the table and seized Carol in a fierce hug. “I’m not going to forget you. No matter what happens, I’m never going to forget you again.”  


Carol embraced Filia. After a time, her sobbing quieted, and ceased, and she gently let go.  


“Look at me,” she said, chuckling. “Painwheel, Lab 0’s ultimate weapon… and I’m sitting here bawling my eyes out while our burgers are getting cold.”  


Filia wiped Carol’s tears with a napkin. “Painwheel’s a dumb name, anyways. Carol suits you better.”  


Their spirits lifted, Carol and Filia tore into their burgers. Filia shared her fries, and occasionally, Sampson snuck down a thin tendril and pulled a fry up under Filia’s hat.  


Finished, Carol wiped a spot of ketchup from her lip. “I’ll be back in a few. I just want to hit the restroom and wash my face. I think I’ve still got some tear-streaks on my cheeks.”  


Filia nodded, and Carol left. After a moment, Filia spoke to Sampson.  


“You’ve been a little quiet through dinner. Is everything all right?”  


“Thought I’d give you two a little time alone,” Sampson answered, from beneath her hat. “Well, as alone as you ever get.”  


Filia smirked. “That doesn’t sound like you at all. Normally you can’t stand other people getting close to me.”  


“The Skullheart’s gone now. It’ll be back in seven years, but a lot can change in that time. It’s got me thinking… I never told you about my last host, Dahlia, did I?”  


“No. You never did.”  


Sampson paused. “This isn’t the right time to get into it, but things didn’t end well for Dahlia. I guess I want to see things go better for you. You and Carol really seem to like each other. Don’t let that go to waste, kid.”  


Filia smiled again. “Believe me, I won’t. She’s a friend like no other.”  


Sampson didn’t answer. A few moments later, Carol came out of the bathroom. Her face was slightly moist, and her bangs were damp, but she was smiling. The bell at the door jingled as they stepped out and began to walk aimlessly under the street-lights.  


“Got any plans for tomorrow?” Carol asked.  


Filia scratched her head, smiling sheepishly. “Well, I was going to spend it searching for the Skullheart. Maybe we can hit the mall and do some clothes shopping instead? That qipao you’re wearing’s pretty stylish, but you don’t have much else to wear, do you?”  


Carol tugged at her qipao and scowled. “No. I’m pretty sick of this thing, anyways. It reminds me of a hospital gown.”  


“I should probably think about going back to school soon,” said Filia. “I mean… that’s what I ought to be doing right now. And my name might be in the school records, somewhere. Might be good start in finding out who I used to be.”  


“You shouldn’t be too hard to find. It’s not like ‘Filia’ is a very common name,” Carol joked.  


They kept walking. After a moment, Carol stopped.  


Filia turned to face her. “What’s up, Carol?”  


“Just thinking about something we did together a while back. Before I was taken.”  


“Oh? I might remember if you tell me.”  


“It was the Forth of July. We were going to watch the fireworks together in the park, but for some reason, you wanted us to get there early, almost an hour before dark.”  


Filia’s face lit up. “That’s right! I wanted to get there early so we’d have time to walk over from the ice-cream parlor.”  


Carol smiled. “You’ve always had such a sweet-tooth. Your thighs are starting to show it.”  


Filia blushed and tugged down at her skirt, looking flustered. “Quit teasing me.”  


“Hey, don’t worry about it. You look great.”  


“So, the fireworks? What got you thinking about that?”  


Carol paused. “There was something I wanted to tell you while stood out there in the sunset, but I never did.”  


“Oh? What was it?”  


“The way the golden light played on your skin…” Carol blushed intensely, grinning. “You looked really beautiful.”  


Filia stared, speechless. Even under the dim streetlights, a faint, rosy tinge showed on her pale cheeks.  


Carol looked serious. “Earlier, in the restaurant… did you mean it when you said I looked cute?”  


Filia didn’t answer. After a moment, Carol stepped closer and put her hands on Filia’s shoulders. Her hands were strong, but tender on Filia’s soft flesh. She gazed into Filia’s eyes as she moved closer, so close she could feel Filia’s breath on her skin, could feel her breath quickly rising. She slowly closed her eyes and kissed Filia on the mouth.  


Filia made a little noise, a kind of muffled sigh, leaned against Carol and slipped her arms around the small of Carol’s back. After a moment, they broke away, flushed.  


“Hey, Carol?”  


“Yeah?”  


“Back when we were going to school together, did I ever have any boyfriends?”  


Carol thought. “No. You never did.”  


Filia smiled and lowered her eyes. “I think I know why, now.”  


Filia cocked her head and nibbled playfully on Carol’s ear. Carol gasped, and her knees shuddered as Filia furiously kissed her neck, then worked her way up to Carol’s mouth. Carol gripped the soft flesh of Filia’s thigh as they kissed beneath the streetlights, and the pain, confusion and guilt that had surrounded them seemed dissipate like fog under warm sunlight.  


As they kissed, Carol thought back on everything she’d been through to reach this moment, to be with the girl she loved and who loved her, and somehow, it all seemed worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I certainly enjoyed writing it. A couple things I think I'll clarify on here:
> 
> There's not gonna be any explicit sex in story. Yeah, I know, stuff got a little steamy with that kiss at the end there, but Filia and Carol are 15 years old, and I'm not comfortable writing them doing much more than making out. If you really want to see underaged video-game characters going at it... well, you're already on the internet. It's not like messed up stuff is hard to find or anything. :/
> 
> There's gonna be a big ol' fight scene in the next chapter, Peacock, Big Band and the rest of Lab 8 are going to show up, and I'm going to address the possibility (hinted at in Painwheel's ending) that the Skullgirl blood Lab 0 injected her with might have some... unforeseen side-effects.
> 
> ...The cheeseburgers Carol and FIlia ate are were made from grass-fed beef, and thus, they are not contributing to global warming by sharing lesbian comfort food.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick continuity note:
> 
> This chapter's prelude is set roughly an hour after Chapter 1. In this continuity, Lab 0 let Marie into Lab 8 and murdered Dr. Avian (as in Peacock and Big Band's Story Modes), but Peacock never spotted Marie on the street, and thus, never learned Marie was the Skullgirl.

_Prelude_

Peacock’s gaze slowly swept across the inside of the Grand Cathedral. Signs of a struggle were obvious—several pews were broken, there were blood stains scattered across the carpet and the pulpit was smashed to splinters—but whoever had fought here had vanished.  


Peacock ground her teeth, letting off a hideous metallic grating, then whipped out an oversized pistol and fired three times, blasting the pew beside her into pieces. “WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THE BAD GUYS!?”  


Big Band looked up from studying a blood-stain. “Keep your cool, Little Bird.”  


Peacock whirled towards Big Band. “How am I supposed to do that!? Doctor Avian is—” she broke off a moment, tears glinting in the corners of her eyes-sockets. “The Doc is gone, Lab 8’s wrecked, and now we don’t even get the pleasure of smackin’ down the goons that did it.”  


“I want to lay the hurt on those fools as much you do Peacock, but we’ve got to be smart about it,” said Big Band. “The Theonite Resonance Detectors were going nuts on our way over here, but now I can barely get a beep out of them. That means the Skullgirl was here, and now she ain’t. What’s that tell you?”  


Peacock squinted, confused. “...You’re the brains of this outfit, remember?”  


Big Band sighed. “It means that either someone busted in here and took down the Skullgirl before we could, or she left this place in a hurry.”  


Peacock sneered. “Nobody but me coulda’ beat the Skullgirl. I bet those Lab 0 chumps let her know we were coming, and they all vamoosed outta here.”  


Big Band shifted his massive bulk from one foot to the other. “I’m not gonna say you’re wrong, since Lab 0 clearly helped the Skullgirl bust into Lab 8, but that doesn’t explain what happened here. These pews look like someone took some kind of giant blade to them. There’s blood everywhere, but not a corpse to be found, and no sign that someone dragged a body away either. Only someone with enhancements, like you or Valentine could have lost that much blood and walked off on their own, but besides us, who would have a beef with Valentine?”  


Peacock shrugged. “Beats me.”  


Big Band turned away, scowling. “I’m gonna give this place a closer look. If I don’t find anything, we’ll fire up the Theonite Resonance Detector and beat a trail across the city until we get a sign. If the Skullgirl is still out there, she might be our only chance at tracking down Lab 0 again. It’s the best we can do right now.”  
* * *

_Maplecrest Mall, Two Days Later_

Carol and Filia sat at a table inside the mall’s ice-cream parlor, each nursing a cone. Warm sunlight poured in through the mall’s ceiling. Filia was wearing a straw hat, and Carol was wearing the outfit Filia had helped her pick out the day before.  


It was a cute, if simple outfit; white knee-socks, black mary-janes and a loose, bright red dress with large, poofy sleeves… perfect for concealing the bits of the Gae Bolga that protruded from Carol’s shoulders. The skirt concealed the points where the Gae Bolga entered her hips. She had detached the blades from her Buer Drive, and had concealed them in a cello case she kept at her side. She kept the stalk of the Buer Drive beneath her clothes, pressed flat against her back. Aside from the prominent scars on her face, there was nothing to suggest that Carol was any different from any of the other girls at the mall. It had been a wonderful day, but there was something troubling Carol, something she was almost afraid to bring up.  


“Filia,” she said, quietly. “You haven’t gone to school looking for your records yet.”  


Filia looked up from her ice-cream, then laughed, slightly stiffly. “Oh? That’s right, I was supposed to do that. But I guess you know how bad I am at remembering things, right?”  


Carol didn’t smile. “Is something holding you back? We can talk about it.”  


Filia sighed and looked down sadly at her ice-cream. “I’m just a little afraid, I guess.”  


“Afraid of what?”  


Filia swallowed uncomfortably. “Afraid that what I learn might drive us apart.”  


Carol smiled and took Filia’s hand. “I told you before, Filia, that nothing that came between us in the past matters anymore. You don’t have to worry about losing me. You were willing to risk becoming a Skull Girl to learn who you were, right? Your memories must be important to you.”  


Filia paused. “You remember more than I do, right Carol?”  


Carol shifted, a little uneasy. “That’s right.”  


“Then tell me, please… just what was it I did to you?”  


Carol averted her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”  


“I just want to know who I used to be.”  


Carol released Filia’s hand and took a breath. “Your last name is Medici.”  


Filia drew back, her expression puzzled. “Medici? As in—”  


“The Medici Mafia.”  


Filia’s hands shook, and her breathing became frantic. “Did I ever—”  


“You didn’t hurt anyone, or have anyone hurt, as far as I know. I don’t think they let you have that much power, but the Medicis were the ones who took me and gave me to Lab 0.”  


Filia stared at Carol. “So… the only reason they knew you was because you knew me? If we hadn’t been friends, they wouldn’t have taken you?”  


“I—” Carol broke off. “I don’t know how exactly they choose who to take, but that’s probably right. They came to take me right after we had a nasty argument, and when they took me, I assumed it was because you said something about it. But,” she added, quickly, “I never knew that for certain, and I wasn’t thinking clearly when I blamed you for it.”  


Filia sniffled, her eyes watering. “I think I’ve heard enough.”  


Carol winced. “Listen, Filia, I don’t want you beating yourself up over something that probably wasn’t even your fault. I wasn’t thinking straight when I blamed you, okay? The Medicis taking me might not have had anything to do with the fight we had. Maybe they were worried that if you got too close to someone outside the Mafia, they’d lose control over you. Maybe they chose me for reasons that had nothing to do with you. It doesn’t matter, because what happened is over, and now we have each other.”  


“Thanks, Carol.” Filia wiped her eyes and smiled. “You’re right. Whatever ugly secrets are lurking in my past, I’m done with them. It’s what’s here and now that matters.”  


Carol beamed. “That’s right! And right now, in this moment, you need to finish eating your Triple Chocolate Chunk before it melts.”  


Filia looked at her ice-cream and giggled. “Good idea.”  


Carol and Filia continued eating their ice-cream. After a moment, Carol looked up.  


“Hey, Filia. You’ve got a little chocolate on your face.”  


Filia wiped blindly at her cheek with a napkin. “Did I get it?”  


“Not quite. Here, I’ll get it.”  


Grinning, Carol leaned over and licked the ice-cream off Filia’s cheek. Filia blushed and stared, her lips slightly parted. Absently, she raised her hand to her cheek.  


“That was… nice of you. Thanks. But I think you might have missed some.”  


Carol smirked. “Hey, you’re right. I think you’ve got some on your lips too.”  


Carol gave Filia a peck on the lips. Though the kiss was brief, it make Filia shiver.  


“I think,” she said, giggling, “you’ve got a little on you too.”  


“Really? Where?”  


Filia suddenly reached out and bumped her ice-cream against Carol’s cheek, smearing her skin with chocolate. Carol yelped from the cold and jumped back, laughing.  


“What the hell, Filia?”  


“Oh no!” Filia exclaimed theatrically. “Look what I’ve done now. Hold still so I can clean you.”  


Filia tucked a hand behind Carol’s neck and peppered her cheek with a flurry of quick licks and kisses while Carol squirmed, giggling furiously and blushing bright red.  


“Cut it out!” she said, half-heartedly pushing Filia back. “People are gonna stare.”  


“Mmm, I can’t. You’re too delicious.”  


Sampson grumbled from beneath Filia’s hat. “You two are friggin’ dorks.”  


Carol and Filia kept wrestling and giggling. Abruptly, a large drop of melted ice-cream fell from Filia’s cone and landed on her upper thigh, just below the skirt. They stopped laughing. Carol watched the ice-cream begin to run down Filia’s warm, soft thigh. Filia watched Carol staring at her leg, and after a moment, cracked a nervous grin.  


“I, uh… I can get that one.” She quickly dabbed up the ice-cream with a napkin.  


Carol went back to eating her ice-cream, smiling and willing herself to stop blushing. Filia did the same, and the two shared a pleasantly awkward silence. When they finished their ice-cream, Filia stood up and dusted off her skirt.  


“Anywhere else you want to go today?”  


Carol started to answer, but stopped. There were two people weaving their way through the crowd, headed straight for her and Filia. One was a young girl, about thirteen, in a top-hat and a gothic Lolita dress. Her outfit was odd enough, but it looked like her eyes had been gouged out, and she had red, almond shaped eyes attached to the tops of her unnaturally thin arms. Just behind her was an enormous man in a trench-coat and a fedora. He was at least eight feet tall, and broad as a tank. A small, robotic arm jutted from the front of his coat, holding what looked like a Geiger counter.  


“Filia,” she said, uneasy, “I think those people are looking for us.”  


Peacock glanced over to Big Band. “You getting’ warm yet, B.B.?”  


Big Band nodded and looked from the Theonite Ressonance Dectector to Carol and Filia. “Red hot. It looks it’s leading us straight to those two girls.” He paused and squinted. “Wait a sec. Neither of those two looks like a Skullgirl. Something fishie’s goin’ on.”  


“Pssh. Valentine probably gave her plastic surgery to change her face or something.” Peacock grinned. “Point is, we found her. Now let’s beat her up!”  


“Peacock, wait!”  


Peacock ignored him and dashes towards Filia and Carol. Filia turned to greet her, smiling sheepishly.  


“Uh, hi there. Can we help you with something?”  


Peacock smiled wickedly and pulled a baseball bat out from beneath her hat.  


Filia stepped back with an anxious chuckle. “Oh? Are you a… sports fan?”  


“Alright,” said Peacock, “which one of you schmucks is the Skullgirl? I wanna know which way to clobber. It’s you on the left with the scars, right?”  


“Skullgirl?” Filia squinted, puzzled.  


Carol bared her teeth, furious. “You—” she flicked open her cello case, “—are ruining—” the shaft of her Buer Drive shot up out of the collar of her dress and snaked down into the case, “—our—” she pulled the blades from the case and held them whirling over her head, “—DATE!”  


Big Band ran up, holding up a pair of enormous, metal hands shaped like trumpets. “Whoooa, can we all just take this down a notch? Look, my friend and I—”  


Sampson abruptly devoured Filia’s hat, revealing his glaring, toothy face. “Shut it, you over-sized xylophone. My host’s girlfriend just told you to beat it. Now, grab your pint-sized ginger buddy and get the hell out of my sight!”  


Filia gasped. “Sampson! What do you think you’re doing?”  


Big Band glared at Sampson and clenched his fists. “You are really gonna wish you hadn’t riled me.”  


“Yeah!” Peacock shouted. “Get ready to get stomped, Skullgirl! …Whichever one of you that is!”  


Peacock swung her base-ball bat at Fillia’s head, but Carol stepped between them and cut the bat to pieces with her Buer Drive. Big Band rushed forwards and threw a punch at Sampson. Sampson blocked the blow with his tentacles, but the force threw Filia off-balance.  


Carol pressed her advantage, stabbing Peacock with her spikes from her hands, shoulders and feet. Peacock retaliated, jabbing a lit cigar at Carol’s face. As Carol leaned back to avoid the cigar, Peacock whipped out an over-sized pistol. A robotic fist shot out of the barrel, knocking Carol flat. Carol hopped to her feet and fired a spike from her arm, but Peacock evaded the attack by summoning a wormhole in the floor and teleporting away.  


While Carol fought Peacock, Filia and Sampson faced Big Band. Sampson lashed at Big Band with a flurry of spiky tentacles, but Big Band calmly blocked the attacks with a music stand. A drum-kicker popped out from beneath his trench-coat, and he stomped on it, striking Filia in the shin. Filia gasped at the pain, and Big Band kneed her in the stomach, then drop-kicked her in the chest, sending her flying. He rushed toward her to throw another massive punch, but Filia rolled out of the way and kicked Big Band in the back, staggering him. Sampson snapped out a pair of jaws and bit him, tearing his coat. Filia crouched and swung Sampson forwards, but Big Band blocked the strike and shoved Filia back. He wound up to throw another massive punch, when Carol leapt in front of him.  


Carol drew back both arms, purple electricity flashing around her body. Big Band struck her straight in the face, but she didn’t even seem to notice the blow. Big Band stared, shocked, and Carol struck him in the stomach with both fists, redirecting the force of his own blow. Big Band stumbled back, struggling for balance, but Carol didn’t let him recover. She seized him with her Buer Drive and slammed a spiked shoulder into his chest. Peacock began to take aim at Carol with an over-sized pistol, but suddenly, Filia dropped low and Sampson sent a set of mass of tendrils shooting through the floor, drilling through the concrete. The tendril erupted beneath Peacock’s feet, knocking her towards Big Band. Carol swept the Buer Drive under Big Band’s feet, toppling him.  


“Filia!” Carol shouted. “Get ready!”  


Carol bent backwards, spikes jutting from her arms and legs to carry her like stilts, the Buer Drive whirling beneath her like an immense lawn-mower blade as she ran over Big Band and Peacock. The Buer Drive screamed as it clashed against Big Band’s metal body again and again, battering him and filling the mall with the sound of sparking metal. Before they could recover, Sampson transformed into a giant cockroach, and Filia rocketed forwards, propelled by Sampson’s wings, slamming into Big Band and Peacock and knocking them across the mall.  


Peacock huffed and struggled to get back on her feet. “Hey Rust Bucket, is it just me, or are we actually losin’?”  


Big Band wheezed. “It’s not you. If I wasn’t made of metal, I’m pretty sure I’d be in about fifty pieces by now.”  


“Stay down,” Carol growled, a spike rising through the palm of her hand.  


Filia looked down at her fallen opponents. “I’m not sure they could stand if they wanted to… wait, didn’t one of them say something about the Skullgirl?”  


Carol paused. “That’s right.” She pointed a finger at Peacock. “She seems to think I’m the Skullgirl.”  


Filia offered Peacock her hand. “I think this whole thing was just a silly mistunderstanding. Carol isn’t the Skullgirl. In fact, she defeated the Skullgirl three nights ago.”  


Peacock took Filia’s hand and pulled herself up, eyeing Carol suspiciously. “The Skullgirl’s already bit the dust? So how come your friend here reeks of Theonite?”  


Filia cocked her head. “Theonite? What’s that?”  


Big Band thrust out a small, beeping device. “See this? It’s a Theonite Ressonance Detector. We use it to track Skullgirls, and for some reason, your friend has this thing lit up like a Christmas tree.”  


Carol looked down at the device. “That’s odd… maybe when I killed the Skullgirl, traces of her presence clung to me? How else could—”  


A sudden flashing pain shot through Carol, and she winced and groaned, clenching her fists.  


“Carol!” Filia darted forwards and held Carol’s shoulders. “Are you alright?”  


Carol gasped. “I… I think so.”  


“What happened? Was it something that happened to you during the fight?”  


Carol shook her head. “No, it wasn’t from an injury. It… it felt like it came from inside me.”  


Big Band stood up, looking Carol over. “Those are synthetic Parasites, aren’t they? You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a group called Lab 0, would you?”  


Carol stared, wide-eyed. “How do you know about Lab 0?”  


“Peacock and I are Anti-Skullgirl soldiers from a place called Lab 8,” Big Band explained. “We’re sort of a sister team to Lab 0. Or, we were, before Lab 0 betrayed us and destroyed our lab. When you told me you took out the Skullgirl, I got the feeling you were an Anti-Skullgirl soldier like us.”  


Filia frowned. “So… Carol isn’t the only person Lab 0 has hurt.”  


“Listen,” said Big Band, “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d like you two to come along with me. I’ve got a really bad feeling about your friend’s condition, and there’s only one person I know who might have a chance at finding out what’s going on here.”  


Filia turned from Big Band to Carol. “Well? Do you think we can trust them?”  


Carol eyed Peacock uneasily. “I’m not sure we have a choice. Tell this one to keep her trigger-finger in check, and we’ll come along.”  


* * *  


Carol and Filia sat in the shattered remains of Lab 8, waiting for the test results along with the rest of Lab 8’s members. Stanley Whitefin stared anxiously at a blood sample while Peacock sat on a stool in corner, puffing away at a cigar.  


Filia frowned. “Aren’t you a little young to be smoking?”  


Peacock ignored her. “So what’s up, doc? Figure out what’s wrong with Stitches over here yet?”  


Carol glared at Peacock. “It’s Carol.”  


“Eh, close enough.”  


Stanley turned his head. “It would appear that the doctors of Lab 0 have injected Carol with blood taken from the previous Skullgirl.”  


“What!?” Filia exclaimed. “Why would they do that?”  


“To enhance her power, I’d imagine,” said Stanley. “In that aspect, the transfusion has certainly been effective, but—” he broke off.  


“What’s wrong?” Carol asked.  


Stanley fidgeted with his glasses. “Perhaps I should speak to you alone about this?”  


Filia took Carol’s hand and drew her closer, as if to protect her. “It’s alright, Carol. I’m here for you if you need me.”  


Carol gently squeezed Filia’s hand back. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” she asked Stanely.  


Stanley sighed. “Lab 0 took measure to prevent soul contamination, but they were reckless in their approach. The Skullgirl blood in your veins is slowly corrupting you, Carol. At this rate, you’ll become the new Skullgirl within two months.”  


Carol didn’t speak. She sat where she was, stiff, a blank expression frozen on her face. She was aware that she was still holding hands with Filia, but she felt numb. She had finally broken free from Brain Drain, finally found her way into the arms of someone she truly cared for, and now…  


“What?” Her mouth was dry, and she felt dizzy.  


Tears leaked from Filia’s eyes. “Carol…”  


Stanley raised his hands, fretting. “Now, there may be hope! Lab 0’s contamination anti-measures have greatly reduced the extent of the damage. Since you never actually wished on the Skullheart, you are not yet bound to its influence. I believe there may be a method of undoing the contamination entirely.”  


Carol leaned forwards. “What is it? I’ll do anything that stops me from turning.” Her voice dropped and quaked, and she turned towards Filia, her eyes moist. “Anything that lets me stay here.”  


Stanley paused. “It’s risky, very risky. There’s no existing procedure for dealing with the condition you have, and if I had any other answers, I wouldn’t even entertain this idea. Peacock’s Argus Array produces Z-rays at a frequency which is designed to disrupt the essence of Skullgirls. Using her Argus as a power source, I should be able to apply small amounts of Z-ray radiation to an intravenous fluid. The radiated fluid would pass through your blood-stream, gradually destroying the contamination. The Z-rays would have a negative impact on your body as well, and would likely kill a normal human being, but Lab 0’s treatments have given you a powerful regenerative ability. That gives me hope. Given a cautious dosage, a Z-ray fluid infusion may be able to save you.”  


Carol paused. “Then why do you seem so hesitant? If there’s even a chance this will work, we should try it, right?”  


Stanley lowered his eyes. “I’m not Dr. Avian. I’m not half the mind he was, and the procedure I’m suggesting is, as it stands, merely theoretical. If something goes wrong, I don’t want to cost you the two months you have left.”  


Carol looked from Stanley to Filia, feeling lost.  


“Perhaps the two of you would like some time to talk it over?” Stanely attempted to smile. “There’s no need to rush. You can come back tomorrow and give an answer then, if you like.”  


Carol nodded and took Filia’s hand. “I think we’ll do that,” she muttered. “See you in the morning, Stanley.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter be like...
> 
> Heh, Peacock's such a dumbass.
> 
> Heh, Sampson's such an asshole.
> 
> For the record, I main Peacock and Painwheel, so I reserve the right to call Peacock a dumbass. And I kinda feel like I might have made Sampson a little too nice in Chapter 1, to the point that he's almost OOC, so I tried to make for that by making him a bigger jerk and trash-talking Big Band here. Sort of like he did to Squiggly in Squiggly's story mode.
> 
> Also… yeah, I know that Stanley’s Z-Ray fluid treatment is basically chemo. That doesn’t mean that I’m trying to make some kind of cancer metaphors here. It was just the most logical solution, to me. In my head canon, Stanley devised something similar to this treatment following Big Band's Story Mode, after Painwheel joined up with Lab 8. A lot of neat stuff happens in my Skullgirls head canon, because that bastard Mike Z never revealed the canon ending.
> 
> ...If you're somehow reading this, Mike Z, please don't take offense. I freaking love the game you made, and I think you're awesome.
> 
> Also. I swear to Madoka that I don't have a fetish for high cholesterol food. It's just, like, the only thing I can come up with for two girls to share. I'll have Filia and Carol eat salads or something in the next chapter.
> 
> Speaking of next chapter, Valentine should get her first cameo there. Will try to get the next chapter up within the next couple weeks. My schedule is nightmarish, but I promise I'm going to get this done. Hang in there guys! >_<


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …Months and weeks are basically the same thing, right?  
> Sorry this took so long, guys. I’ve kind of been struggling with the whole adulting thing, I guess, making time for the stuff I actually care about between the stuff I have to do. If I can maintain the pace I’m at now, though, you won’t have to wait nearly as long for the next chapter. Enjoy!

            Carol and Filia prodded at the last few dressing-soaked pieces of lettuce at the bottom of their salad-bowls.  Two days ago, the burger restaurant’s quiet had been comforting.  Now, it only made them feel small, alone and powerless.

            Filia laid her fork down.  “Do you want anything else?”

            Carol shook her head.  “I’m not very hungry tonight.”

            “Me neither.”

            Carol gently bent the plastic fork between her fingers.  “When we met two nights ago, I never thought I’d have to make this kind of decision.”

            Filia paused.  “So.  Have you made up your mind?”

            Carol clenched her fist.  “I didn’t get this far by choosing not to fight.  There’s too much we have to look forwards too.” She choked up.  “I want us to have a _life_ together, Filia.  I can’t fit a life in two months.”

            Filia took her hand.  “You’re right.  It might be a risk, but it’s worth it.  We’re going to get through this.  I love you, and I’m not about to let you go.”

            They kissed, and Carol smiled bravely.  “I’m going to make it through this, Filia.  For both of us.  I’m not going to let what Lab 8 did to me stop me from being with you.”

*   *   *

            When Carol and Filia arrived at Lab 8 the next morning, Carol started wondering where that bravery and determination she had felt before had gone.  The beakers and the steel tools around her took on a sinister gleam.  Memories of Lab 0 returned to her, blinding lights, scalpels cutting her flesh, a metallic voice, the looming visage of a one-eyed monster…

            She felt Filia take her hand.  “Carol?  Are you are alright?”

            “W-what?” Carol muttered, startled.

            “You looked a little spaced out, and you were breathing really hard.”  Filia frowned.  “You’re not having second thoughts about this, are you?”

            Carol shook her head.  “No.  I’m going through with this.  Nothing’s going to stop me.”

            They found Stanley waiting for them in a glass-walled room at the back of the lab, tinkering with a peculiar machine.  The machine was roughly the size of a mail drop-box, and appeared to have been hastily constructed from other machines.  Duct tape showed where wires had been mended, and bolts showed where Stanley had attached a customized control panel.  Stanley flicked a switch and gave a satisfied sigh as green text began to scroll across the monitor. 

He turned to greet the girls, smiling anxiously.  “Good morning.  I hoped you’d come.”

            “Good morning,” said Carol.  “Is this the Z-Ray Fluid machine you were talking about?  Seems like you finished it awfully fast.”

            Stanley chuckled.  “Well, it was mostly a matter of repurposing equipment we already had, so my work was mostly done for me already.” He paused, the smile slowly sliding off his lips.  “And I had incentive to work fast, given your condition.”

            Filia raised her hand.  “Um, not that I doubt you, Stanley, but I might ask one quesiton?”

            “Certainly, Filia.”

            “Why does the Z-Ray Fluid machine have a rubber duck glued to the top of it?”

            “Oh, that.”  Stanley eyed the duck sheepishly.  “Well, I thought it’d make the machine look a little friendlier.  I understand our patient—uh, I mean, Carol—has an… unhappy history with medical professionals, and I was hoping I could make her feel more comfortable.”

            “You’re talking about what Lab 0 did to me?”

            Stanley lowered his eyes.

            “It’s alright.  You don’t have to avoid talking about it.”  Carol attempted to smile.  “That’s a cute duck.”

            The rubber duck did about as much to quiet Carol’s memories of Lab 0 as a band-aid would have done to repair a bullet-wound, but Carol wasn’t about to let that show, not after all the work Stanely had put in for her.  The shark-man spread a ragged floral comforter over a hospital gurney and fluffed a pillow.

            “If you’re ready, Carol, please lay down, and try to relax.”

            Carol took a breath and laid down.  Stanley took a step towards her, held one arm and felt for Carol’s vein.  When he’d found it, he picked up the end of the machine’s IV tube and moved to insert the needle.  When the needle caught Carol’s eye, her stomach twisted.  The memory of a mocking voice rang in her ears.

            “ _Ready for your shots?_ ”

            Carol gripped the rail on her bed so hard she crushed it like a soda can.  The Gae Bolga writhed viciously within her, threatening to burst out through her skin.  “Stop!”

            Stanely drew back, alarmed.  “What’s wrong?”

            “I…” Carol took a breath.  “I’ll be alright.  I just need a moment.”

            She closed her eyes and took Filia’s hand.  Carol focused on the warmth of Filia’s skin.  She could feel the needle sliding into her arm, and though it barely even hurt, it took all of her restraint not to scream.

            “Alright,” said Stanley.  “Your first treatment should be complete in about 2 hours.”

            Carol gritted her teeth.  “That long?”

            “I’m afraid so.  I’ll also need to perform a brief examination afterwards to check your condition.”

             Abruptly, a hole opened up in the floor and Peacock sprang out, holding a rabbit-eared television set and a short stool.  She planted the television at the foot of Carol’s bed with the enthusiasm of a conquering general planting her flag.

            “Cheer up, Stitches!  You might be stuck her for a bit, but now that you’ve got some down-time, I can introduce you to my friend Annie of the Stars!”

            Carol frowned.  “I think I’d rather just spend some time with Fili—”

            Peacock flicked on the set.  “They’re playing a rerun of my favorite episode today, “The Tentacles of Trepidation!”  I’ve seen it like twenty-eleven and a half times.”

            Carol sighed, gripping her forehead.  Filia smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.

            “I don’t mind watching reruns if it’s with you.”

            Carol grinned. “I could have worse company, I guess.  Like her for example.”

            Peacock fiddled with the antennae, her tongue jutting slightly from between her lips, her brow furrowed in concentration.  “You say somethin’, Stitches?”

            Carol chuckled.  “Don’t mind us.  We’re having adult talk.  Boring stuff.  You wouldn’t be interested.”

            “Don’t get a swelled head just cuz you’re two years older than me and you gotta girlfriend.  And don’t you two try anything funny in front me either.  I’m an impressionable youth, ya know.”

            Carol relaxed and settled into her bed with Filia beside her.  The noise of the television drowned out the sound of the machine.  For the moment, she was content.

*   *   *

            Carol gripped her chest as a hacking cough shook her body and her eyes watered in pain.  It had been two months since she had begun her Z-Ray Fluid treatment, and nearly three weeks since she had been able to spend more than a few minutes on her feet.  Her bones and muscles ached almost constantly, and when she coughed, it felt like her chest was about to collapse on itself like a cardboard box in a heavy rain.  She ran her hand against the bit of bed-rail she had crushed during her first treatment.  Now, she doubted that she had the strength to break a pencil.

            The Z-Ray treatment was working.  It had to be, because Stanley wouldn’t have allowed it to take Carol to this state if it wasn’t.  The last blood sample he had taken revealed the Skullgirl blood within Carol had fallen to a little under five percent… but there was a problem.  Carol’s regeneration was slowing.  The first few treatments had hardly shown side-effects, and even Stanley had allowed himself some optimism.  Even when side-effects first began to show, they had been mild, nothing beyond dizziness and occasional joint pain.  Carol wouldn’t have even mentioned them if Stanley hadn’t made her promise to tell him of even the slightest change in her condition.  As the weeks passed, however, the symptoms had swiftly grown worse.  Carol’s body was inhumanly tough, strong and resilient, but it still had its limits.  Her regeneration had been overworked, and it was getting harder and harder for her to bounce back.  She couldn’t stop the treatment now, she knew, or the Skullgirl’s corruption would spread through her once again.  In essence, the treatment had become a race to clear Carol of the last of the corruption before her body failed her.  Carol wasn’t sure how much longer that would take.

            Filia approached her bed, carrying a steaming bowl of microwaved chicken broth on a plastic tray.  “Lunchtime!” she called, in a cheery tone.

            Filia was smiling—she rarely let Carol catch her looking down—but the bags under her eyes and heavy lines in her forehead betrayed her.   Carol knew that watching her condition plummet was wearing on Filia, that she was fighting with all her strength to stay positive for Carol’s sake.

            “My favorite,” Carol whispered hoarsely, as Filia set the tray on the table that overhung her bed.  “Thank you.”

            Filia smiled and placed her hands behind her back.  “How’s my favorite patient feeling today?”

             “Never better,” Carol wheezed, as she blew on a spoonful of broth.  “Maybe me and Sampson can go bench-press some sky-scrapers later.”

            Sampson chuckled.  “I knew Filia was too good to end up falling for a wimp.  Ya got grit, kid.  You always did.”

            Carol stared into the broth, then quietly swallowed a spoonful.  “Stanley took a blood sample yesterday.  He told me the results would be ready at some point this afternoon.”

            “That’s good… right? Last time he checked you were almost cured.”

            “Yeah.”  Carol’s eyes watered.  “Almost.”  

For a few seconds, Carol was silent.  “I had a dream last night, Filia.  I dreamed I was being chased by a monster with red eyes.  A monster with a leather face and four metal wings.  I ran from it, but it chased me.  I hit it, but it didn’t seem to care.”  Her voice cracked.  “I fought it as long and as hard as I could, but the monster caught me, and it took me away from you.”

            Filia took Carol’s hand and pressed it to her heart.  “You’re going to get better, okay Carol?” she said, her voice tight and desperate.  “You’re going to get better, and we’re going to be together again, for a long, long time.”

            Carol’s voice dropped low. “Stanley should bring in the results of the last blood test soon.  Filia, if—”

            “Don’t say it.”   Filia shut her eyes tight, squeezing back tears.  “Please, don’t say it.  We don’t have to talk that right now.  We don’t have to talk about anything.  Just… be here with me for a while, okay?  That’s enough.”

            Carol nodded silently, and spread her arms as Filia leaned against her.  She was sure she could have stayed like that for hours, lost in her closeness to Filia, and she wasn’t certain how long they embraced before she heard a tap at the door.

            Filia let go and turned.  Stanley stood at the door, smiling and waving awkwardly.  Filia quickly crossed the room and opened the door for him.

            “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

            “Oh, no, not at all.”

            “Because I can come back later if—”

            Sampson furrowed his brow.  “Out with it, poindexter.  We ain’t got time to stand around watching you grin like an idiot!”

            Stanley shuffled forwards, beaming and trembling with excitement.  “Carol, it is my pleasure to tell you that as of today, you are entirely devoid of Skullgirl blood and freed from the Skullheart’s corruptive influences, forever.  We can now discontinue your Z-Ray treatment and move you into rehabilitation.”

            Carol let out a long sigh that turned into a quiet chuckle. Filia leaned over her bed giggling, draping her arms around Carol’s shoulders, then laughing harder until the two of them were roaring with laughter, tears streaming down their faces. 

Filia grabbed Carol and kissed her hard on the cheek, then wiped her tears.  “You made it, Carol.  You’re going to be okay.”

Carol smiled and nodded.  “Yeah.  I actually made it.  We beat this thing.  You, me, Stanley and Sampson… we won.”

            “It’s over.  It’s finally all over.  Now nothing’s ever going to come between us again.”

            “Yeah.”  Slowly, Carol’s smile began to fade.  “It’s all over.”

*   *   *

_Lab 0, Three Weeks Later_

            Valentine stepped into Brain Drain’s office.  The cyborg sat at his desk, a shining steel collar lined with barbs and electrodes resting on the desk before him.  There was a pair of hinges at the back of the collar, as well as a red LED light, currently dimmed.

            Valentine crossed her arms.  “You wanted to see me, sir?”

            Brain Drain tented his fingers.  “A task has arisen that requires your assistance.”

            Valentine raised an eyebrow.  “Does this have something to do with Project Painwheel?  Things have been looking bad for Lab 0 since it escaped.  We can’t exactly stop the next Skullgirl if we can’t even control our own ASG units, now can we?”

            “Watch your tone,” Brain Drain growled.  “You seem to forget who it is you work for... but your assumptions are correct.  This mission does, in fact, concern reclaiming Project Painwheel and reasserting our control.”  He held up the collar.  “Behold, the Collodi Unit, an advanced neural interception and manipulation device.”

            “I take it this is supposed to be an improvement on the internal command protocol device we already have installed in Painwheel?”

            “That is correct.  The Collodi Unit will completely nullify communication between Painwheel’s cerebral cortex and her voluntary motor system, turning all control of her body over to an external puppeteer.”

            “And that pupeteer will be…?”

            “Me, of course.  Who else has the intelligence for the job?”

            Valentine tapped her foot.  “Seems to me that Painwheel would be a lot less useful if you have to directly control her yourself.”

            “Admittedly, being able to issue commands for her to follow was far more convenient,” said Brain Drain, “but our initial approach simply left her too much freedom to resist.  That is why she was able to eventually shatter those protocols.  There is another drawback here, as well.  The Collodi Unit requires that I am present to establish a mental connection the moment it is activated.  Without a puppeteer to assert control, the interruption in nervous activity will be fatal.  Painwheel is of no use to us dead.”

            “Are you telling me you’re actually going into the field to confront Painwheel directly?”

            “Yes, and you will accompany me.”

            “That’s awfully unlike you.  Wouldn’t you rather send us out to capture Painwheel and bring her here, where you can install the Collodi Unit safely?”

            “Normally, you’d be right, but if there’s one thing that this incident has taught me, it is that I can no longer afford to leave Project Painwheel in the hands of peons.  I cannot afford to see Painwheel evade capture again, nor can I afford to see her harmed during the confrontation or risk her escaping during her transit back to Lab 0.  We will equip her with Collodi Unit the moment we find her and end her struggle immediately.”

            Valentine paused.  Painwheel had destroyed the Skullgirl on her own, far sooner than she would have thought possible.  She wondered just how strong the girl had become…

            Valentine pulled out a chocolate bar and took a bite, smiling wickedly, then turned to leave the office.  “I suppose you’ll want to head out immediately.  I’ll go pack my supplies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …“The Tentacles of Trepidation” is a Lovecraft joke, not a hentai joke. You sick bastards.
> 
> Time-skipped a whole lot in this chapter, but I don’t think anyone wanted to read a day-by-day account of Carol lying around suffering from not-chemo for two months. My apologies if the pacing suffered for it.
> 
> I’d also like to apologize in advance to anyone who ships Painwheel x Valentine. If this story makes it seems like I hate the Painwheel x Valentine ship, that’s only because I, uh… do. 
> 
> Stay tuned for more teenage lesbian angst and video-gamey ass-kicking in the startling conclusion (maybe) of Lesbian Cheeseburgers: The Moewheel Story 2: Electric Macarena.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief continuity note: it’s been officially stated that Skullgirls takes place in the fall, but the exact date is never mentioned. For the purpose of this story, I’m going to assume that the events of the game occurred around November 1st. Two months of Z-Fluid Treatments plus about three weeks of physical rehabilitation would mean this chapter begins some time in late January.

_Maplecrest Park_

  
Though the trees and sidewalks around her were glistening with snow, Carol didn’t feel cold. She and Filia sat on a park bench, holding hands, bundled in their Christmas gifts. Filia had bought Carol a thick white sweater with a matching skirt. Carol, still sickened by her Z-Ray Treatment hadn’t been up to Christmas shopping, but the moment she had felt well enough to hit the mall by herself, she had gotten Filia her belated gift: a woolen scarf and a pink knit-cap. Filia had immediately told Sampson that if he even thought about eating this hat, she would dye him bright pink for a month.

  
Carol blew on a paper cup of hot cocoa as she watched the children on the other side of the park having a snowball fight. “How do they do it?”

  
Filia took a sip of cocoa, her breath steaming. “What do you mean?”

  
“We live in a city ruled by a mafia, a city that was nearly destroyed by a magical undead monstrosity last year. Our only defense against that monstrosity are two teams of mad scientists, one of whom nearly destroyed the other and has no problem kidnapping children and turning them into cyborgs. How do they just… forget all that?"

Filia shrugged. “Maybe they don’t know?” She sipped her cocoa thoughtfully. “Or maybe they don’t forget. Maybe they do know and they play anyways.”

  
Carol nodded slowly. “Maybe that’s it. If I was a kid and knew it I’d probably play even harder while I could.”

 

Filia smirked, her eyes narrow and slightly smug.

  
Carol eyed her suspiciously over the top of her cocoa cup as she took a drink. “What’s with that look?”

  
“You know you’re only fifteen years old, right?”

  
“So?”

  
“You sound so… old.”

  
Carol squinted. “What, like some middle-aged housewife or something?”

  
“Well, no. Maybe. A little bit?”

  
“Ah.” Carol took another sip of cocoa, then calmly set her cup down and seized Filia in a headlock.

  
Filia squealed and kicked in Carol’s grip. “Gah! Cut it out, I’m sorry!”

  
“So you like dating moms, huh?” Carol taunted. “Want me to bend you over my knee and spank you in the middle of the park?”

Filia blushed furiously and struggled. “Jeez Carol, there are children present!”

  
Carol let go. “Quit making excuses. You know you like it when I man-handle you.”

  
“Well.” Filia covered her mouth with her hands to hide her smile. “A little. Being with someone as strong as you is… kinda hot.”

  
Carol grinned and flexed her bicep. After the Z-Ray treatments had stopped, her condition had rapidly improved, her strength returning to her far faster than she had lost it… but her rehabilitation wasn’t over yet. She knew Filia couldn’t see it, but she was still weaker than she had been the night she fought the Skullgirl. She could feel it when she exercised, how much harder she had to work, how much quicker she tired, how much slower her body was to respond. Of course, now she didn’t have much reason to be that strong on most days. With no more Skullgirls to fight, she was far stronger than she or any ordinary girl would ever have a reason to be.

  
Carol turned her head, a sudden chill running down her spine.

  
Filia smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  
Carol paused, her eyes darting across the frosty street behind her. “…It’s nothing. Just had a funny feeling for a moment there.”

  
“What kind of feeling?”

  
Carol searched the crowds and the dim alleys behind her for a metallic gleam or a single violet eye. “…I felt like someone was watching us.”

  
Filia finished her cocoa. “Maybe he’s not coming back? I mean, we haven’t heard or seen even a hint of him in almost three months, right?”

  
Carol lowered her eyes. “Maybe. He could have decided I’m not worth the trouble and moved on to some other project, I guess.”

Her hands trembled, and she turned back to face Filia. “Filia, have you ever thought about going somewhere else?”

  
“Once or twice.”

  
“Maybe we should leave New Meridian. I… I know we have a lot of happy memories here, but sometimes I worry about staying here.”

  
Filia nodded grimly “Maybe that would be best. I don’t want you to have to worry about Lab 0 for the rest of our lives. I probably shouldn’t stay in a city where people might recognize me as a mafia daughter either.”

  
Carol picked up her cello case and stood up, and conviction filled her voice. “Yeah. Neither of us are really going to be safe here. As soon as I’m done doing rehab with Stanley, we’ll pick somewhere else, anywhere else, and go take a trip. We’ll keep going until we find somewhere we can both be happy and relax.”

  
Filia latched onto Carol, her arms around Carol’s waist. “Sounds perfect to me.”

  
Carol and Filia walked down the snowy streets, back towards Lab 8.

  
“February’s coming up,” said Carol. “Have you thought about doing anything special?”

“You’re thinking about Valentine’s Day already?”

  
Valentine.

  
Carol shook her head, denying the troubled thought entry. “Well, it’s pretty hard not to think about romantic stuff when I’m with someone as sweet as you.”

“I—” Filia paused and blinked, her eyes slightly damp. “That’s, uh, really beautiful.”

  
“Aw, are you crying?“

"N-no.”

“You’re almost as big a softy as me.” Carol giggled and squeezed Filia around the middle.

  
“Ah!” Filia squirmed. “Quit squeezing me like that.”

  
Carol nibbled Filia’s neck. “What’s the matter? I thought you liked being man-handled?”

  
“Well, normally I do, but…”

  
Carol squeezed her again. “But what?”

  
“Gah, quit it! I…” Filia’s voice dropped to a whisper, an embarrassed blush spreading across her cheeks. “I might have drank a little too much cocoa.”

  
Carol paused, momentarily processing Filia’s implications. “Oh.” She immediately let go.

“Yeah.”

  
“Sorry.”

Filia flapped her hands. “It’s okay, I just… really should use the bathroom before we get back to Lab 8.”

  
Carol peered down the storefront. “There’s a pizza place just ahead. You can probably go there.”

  
“Great.” Filia started for the door.

  
“I’ll be out front, okay?”

“Okay,” Filia called, as she slipped inside.

Carol turned away from the store-front and let out a contented sigh. The steaming cloud of her breath drifted from the sidewalk into the street and dissipated as the wind of passing cars swept it away. Loud noises used to bother her, but somehow, she found the sounds of traffic pleasant, a reminder of ongoing and wonderfully mundane life. It would be a pity, she reflected, to leave the city she and Filia knew so well…

  
An uneasy chill ran down Carol’s spine, jarring her from her nostalgia. She turned left. Nothing unusual there, just passing cars and an occasional pedestrians. She turned right, and for a split second, she heard something whistling through the air behind her. The Gae Bolga burst from her arm as she whirled and swatted away a flying syringe. As the shattered syringed scattered across the sidewalk, she locked eyes on Valentine. Carol bared her teeth in rage, but before she could attack, a powerful surge of electricity slammed through her body, dropping her to her knees.

  
Brain Drain stood behind her, electricity crackling around his fingers, and raised the Collodi Unit. “Checkmate.”

  
As Brain Drain moved to place the Collodi unit around Carol’s neck, a black streak exploded through the pizza restaurant’s front window. Brain Drain turned, wide-eyed as Filia slammed into him, wrapped in a mass of Sampson’s spikes, crushing the Collodi unit and knocking him flat. With Valentine distracted, Carol kicked her in the chest, knocking her away, then quickly snapped open her cello case and grabbed her Buer Drive blades.

  
Brain Drain stared at the shattered Collodi unit, then turned to Filia, enraged. “You stupid, STUPID GIRL! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

  
Filia scowled back, unflinching. “Stay away from Carol.”

  
A shuriken flashed in Valentine’s hand as she flashed Carol a mocking smile. “I have to say, I didn’t expect to find you with someone else. Have you taken to playing house, Painwheel?”

  
“Leave me alone!”

  
The Buer Drive sliced through the air as Valentine hopped out of reach. Brain Drain flew forwards and tackled Filia, then carried her down an alley and out of sight. Carol turned to follow her when Valentine’s shuriken sliced open a cut in her cheek.

  
Valentine drew her bone saw, brandishing it like a dagger. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  
Val shot towards Carol so fast she seemed to vanish. There was only a whitish blur and the pain in Carol’s flank to let her know she’d been cut. Carol lunged forwards and jabbed at Valentine with spikes in her shoulders, but the nurse was too swift, darting across the ground and threw the air, vanishing from one point to the next before Carol had even swung. As a kick to the stomach knocked out her wind, Carol realized how slow she had really become…

  
Brain Drain slammed Filia into the ground, and drew back his hand, his spiked fingers aimed at her throat. Sampson seized his wrist with a tentacle and hurled him off before he could strike. Brain Drain rolled onto his feet and pressed a hand to his forehead. A barrage of crimson bolts of psychic energy sliced through the air. Filia slid under the blasts and kicked Brain Drain in the shins, knocking him flat. Brain Drain rose, grabbed Filia by the throat and electrocuted her, then tossed her away.

  
“Idiot girl,” he spat. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

  
A hatch in his chest sprung open, and a barrage of missiles screamed out, careening through the air. Filia scrambled to her feet and dashed across the asphalt in a serpentine as the missiles burst around her.  
“Only my intellect stands between humanity and destruction at the hands of the Skullgirl,” Brain Drain declared. “I’ve saved thousands of lives! Who are you to question my methods?”

  
Filia dashed forwards and launched a flying kick at Brain Drain’s chest, but the caught the blow on his arms and shoved her back.

  
“If you can’t find a better way to stop Skullgirls,” said Filia, “you don’t have the right to be our protector!”

  
…Valentine stared down at Carol, disgusted, as Carol panted on her hands and knees.  
“Really, Painwheel? After all I taught you this is the best you can do?”

  
Carol gripped her chest, her breathing haggard. “My name… is Carol.”

  
“Maybe that girl you’ve been spending time with has made you go soft.” A scalpel danced between Valentine’s fingers. “But I can fix that. Painwheel doesn’t need someone to love.”

  
Carol clenched her teeth as blood bounded through her skull. “My name… is Carol.”

  
Valentine walked passed Carol, towards the alley where Filia and Brain Drain fought. “I’m sure that once she’s dead and you’re back in our hands, we can undo the damage she’s done.”

  
Carol felt a rage so sick and hot it stunned her. Rage at Valentine, at Lab 0, at her own weakness and everything and everyone that stood between her and Filia. She choked. Burning electricity flowed through her from within as something long dormant awoke. She stood up.

  
Valentine turned smirking. “What’s this? Not done yet? Well, maybe you—”

  
“GO TO HELL!”

  
The city rang with Carol’s roar, and the haughty smirk fell from Valentine’s lips…

  
Brain Drain looked up a moment, his attention drawn by Carol’s scream, and Filia took her opening. She sprung forwards and kicked him in the ribs, and Sampson moved with her, tearing at Brain Drain’s chest with his jaws. Brain Drain stumbled back, then swiped at Filia’s face, but Filia ducked and struck him with sweep-kick. Sampson’s jaws widened, and Filia leapt upwards as Sampson’s jaws clamped shut on Brain Drain’s chest. She carried him twenty feet in the air, turned, then dove and slammed him into the ground.

  
Brain Drain stood, his eyes flickering with wrath. “I am finished playing with you and your pet, girl. You were an unforseen variable, but I refuse to let my plans be deferred by a bystander. Die.”

  
Brain Drain drew back his arms as the panel in his chest began to slide open. Abruptly, the panel stopped, half-open, stalling and whining. The cyborg stared down, incredulous. Sampson’s jaws had dented the hatch in his chest. Filia covered her face, and Sampson wrapped her in tendrils to shield her from the blast. The missiles snagged on their launch and exploded while still inside Brain Drain’s chest, blowing him into a pile of smoking scrap metal.

  
…Valentine clutched her bone-saw as she held it before her like a shield, sweat-dripping down her forehead, staggering under the weight of Carol’s blows. She let her guard down for a moment to retaliate, and in a flash, Carol’s fingers fastened around her throat like a steel vice. Valentine gagged and felt her feet leave the ground as Carol lifted her and stared at her, her face inches away, animalistic hatred gleaming in her eyes. Carol turned and slammed Valentine’s head against the pavement, then twisted in the air and tore into her with Buer Drive. Valentine gasped in pain and tried to scramble away but Carol was never more than two feet behind her, her body contorting in impossible positions as she moved seamlessly across the ground and through the air, an inescapable ball of spikes, blades and wrath.

Thirteen barbed spikes stabbed out from Carol’s body and skewered Valentine, holding her in place like a butterfly on a pin. Valentine looked up in horror as Carol drew back the revving blades of the Buer Drive.

  
“FEEL PAIN!” Carol screamed, as she brought the Buer Drive down on Valentine’s chest.

  
Blood shot through the air and the whine of metal on bone screamed in Valentine’s ears, and yet when, Carol released Valentine from the barbed grip of the Gae Bolga, the nurse was still alive. Valentine kneeled, grimacing and clutching her bleeding wound. She struggled to stand, then groaned in pain and fell back to her knees.

  
Carol’s heartbeat was beginning to slow. She blinked and clutched her head, her vision blurred, as if waking from a dream. Whatever had taken hold of her was slowly fading, and given a little time to calm down, she was sure it would vanish again.

  
Valentine’s mouth twisted into a perverse smile. “Well, well… you sheared through five of my ribs. I think I underestimated you… no, wait. It wasn’t just you, was it? The Hatred Install…” She laughed. “Even after breaking free of Brain Drain’s control protocols, the Hatred Install is still inside you, still functional.”

  
“What are you,” stammered Carol, “talking about?”

  
Valentine smirked. “You can play house all you want, Painwheel, but you’ll never change what we did to you. You’re a weapon. A monster. That’s what you’ll always be.”

  
Carol scowled as she felt the heat within her begin to rise again. “Shut up, Valentine.”

  
“That wasn’t the first time you lost control, was it? How long do you think it will be before you lose control around that girl you seem to care so much about? My, how will you live with yourself after that happens?”

  
Carol remembered the bed rail she had crushed in Stanley’s office, the way the Gae Bolga had moved within her. “Shut up, Valentine.”

  
Valentine lowered her head and leered, her eye gleaming with hideous triumph. “You could kill me right now, Painwheel, and it wouldn’t change a thing. You could kill every member of Lab 0, shatter every piece of equipment, burn our headquarters to the ground and bury the ashes, and you would still belong to us.” She chuckled wetly, blood running over her lips. “You’ll never escape us, Painwheel. You’ll belong to us forever.”

  
“Shut up.” Carol gripped her forehead, tears streaming from her eyes. The Hatred Drive’s grip on her began to tighten, its flames rising in her chest. “Shut up! SHUT UP!”

  
“I don’t know why you’re so unhappy with what you’ve become. You killed the Skullgirl. You saved thousands of lives, maybe millions. In our hands, you became a tool of salvation. If we’d never taken you, who would you be? A nobody. A silly little schoolgirl with a normal, boring life. Tell me, honestly now, is that really what you would have wa--”

  
_Shunk_.

  
“YES! YES! THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD HAVE WANTED.” Carol lowered her voice. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

  
Valentine wasn’t talking anymore. She wasn’t doing anything anymore. She was never going to do anything again, because Carol had just driven a two-inch thick spike through her eye-socket and out the back of her skull.

  
Carol stepped back and drew the Gae Bolga back into her arm, and Valentine’s body hit the ground. She looked down at herself. The sweater Filia has given her was torn and drenched in blood. She felt dizzy. She tried to speak and found her mouth too dry to form words. There was blood everywhere, on her face, in her hair… she heard someone moving behind her and turned around.

  
She saw Filia staring at her, horrified. For a moment, the image of her parent’s flashed in Carol’s mind, and she whirled away, hiding her face in her arms.

  
“I’m sorry,” she choked. “I… I made a mistake.”

“…Carol?”

  
“I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here.” She slammed her fists into the sidewalk, shattering the concrete. “I NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE!”

  
Filia stepped forwards, her hand outstretched. “Carol, what…”

  
“I’m sorry,” Carol sobbed. “I… please, just forget about me, alright?”

  
She leapt away from Fillia and sprung into the air, the blades of the Buer Drive whirling as they began to carry her away. Filia ran behind her, her arms outstretched, tears running down her cheek.

  
“Carol wait! Carol! CAROL!”

  
Carol kept flying until she couldn’t hear Filia’s voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …God, I’m such a bitch. I swear I thought I could reach the ending in four chapters.  
> This was a tough chapter for me to write all around. I’ve never really felt I had a strong grasp on Valentine’s character, since in some routes (such as Filia’s) she’s portrayed as a villain with zero regard for Carol beyond her ability to fulfill her role as Painwheel, whereas her own route portrays her as an anti-hero and suggests she has more faith and caring in Painwheel then she lets on. This interpretation, was, I admit, more on the villainous side, but I tried to at least maintain the sense that she wants to see Painwheel reach her potential… as a Skullgirl killer, anyways, not as a person.  
> Brain Drain was even tougher to write, particularly during the fight scene, since never got voted in as a DLC character, so all I had to work from were some brief notes from his Playstyle Speculation. I threw in some of Robo-Fortune’s stuff (electricity and missiles) to round it out. Aside from that, Big Band’s story makes him comes off as kind of a generic amoral scientist, whereas Robo-Fortune’s story (of dubious canonicity, I admit) reveals him to be short-sighted and irritable.  
> I’m pretty sure the next chapter will be the last. For real this time. Hopefully, I won’t be saying that again in fifty years when I submit Chapter 900.  
> You can also look forward to an appearance by Lorenzo, if you’re a Lorenzo fan.  
> Wait. There are no Lorenzo fans. Literally no one likes Lorenzo, because he’s a piece of shit. Oh well.  
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride so far!
> 
> EDIT: My bad! There is no character in Skullgirls named Lorezno. There is a pair of characters name Lawrence and Riccardo. Goes to show how much I cared about them, lol.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is it folks. Progress hasn't been as swift or as steady as I hoped it would be, but I thank everyone who's stuck around this long. I hope you enjoy the conclusion of "Remembering to Feel" as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Remembering to Feel Chapter 5

Carol didn’t have a reason to be wandering the streets of Little Innsmouth after midnight.  She didn’t have a reason to be anywhere, or doing anything.  It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced since the last time she had seen her parents.  Carol wondered if anything had actually changed since then.

After she had left Filia, she had spent nearly an hour alone, perched on the top of an office building.  When she had finally stopped sobbing, she had spent some time questioning what to do next.  When she failed to come up with answer, she had started walking.  That was easier than thinking.  She had been at it for two days now.

The blood-stained sweater was gone now.  It would have brought her far too much attention.  She couldn’t swing back to Lab 8 to grab a spare, obviously, so she had stolen a leather jacket from a thrift store, as well as a guitar case to store the Buer Drive blades.  She hadn’t hurt anyone, though.  Not yet.

The jacket was too big for her, but that meant she had room to keep the stalk of the Buer Drive curled up against her back.  She had reached Little Innsmouth, and the scent of fish was heavy in the air.  The glow of neon signs reflected off the water, wavering with the oscillation of the ripples.  Just ahead, a crude neon rendering of a space-ship flickered above the words, “The Color.”

Carol stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket and scowled.  ‘The Color’ was an odd name for a bar.  It sounded like some kind of pretentious, trend-chasing post-modern place, but the chipped paint and grime-smeared windows said the place was anything but modern.  It looked like a dump, and that meant odds were good that no one would be there to bother her.

Perfect.

*   *   *

                Riccardo and Lawrence sat at the bar sipping watery beer and scowling into their mugs.

                “Hey, Lawrence, you hear that?”

                “Hear what?”

                Riccardo took a long sip.  “It’s the sound of the boss jerkin’ us off.”

                Lawrence plucked a peanut from the bowl at the counter and chewed it slowly.  “You still sore about gettin’ sent back to Little Innsmouth?”

                “Yeah!” Riccardo snapped.  “Yeah, I’m still sore.  We gotta go to the same stinkin’ fish-hole to nab the same girls twice?  Kidnappings used to _mean_ somethin’ to me Lawrence.  Every one was special.  This is… this is just like pickin’ up the boss’s laundry.  Except now the laundry knows we’re coming, it’s runnin’ away, and it’s probably paid the bottle of detergent to shoot us in the knees if it sees us comin’.”

                Lawrence paused.  “You got a real way with words, Riccardo.  Wow.  You shoulda been the goddamned Poet Lauriet.”

                “Up yours.”

                “You know we’re only out here ‘cuz that bratty circus freak screwed up, right?”

                “Hey!  You don’t have to badmouth Cerebellla.”  Riccardo took a drink, peering over the rim of his glass.  “She’s a lady of invaluable talents and tremendous assets.”

                Lawrence grinned.  “You wanna bang her.”

                “Yeah, so?”

                “She’s nineteen.  Isn’t that a little old for you?”

                “Hey, I make exceptions.  Just cuz I got my personal tastes doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate--”

                The bell at the door jingled as a scrawny teenage girl in a leather jacket crept inside, her posture stooped, her eyes down.  For a moment, Carol’s eyes flicked over Riccardo and Lawrence, watching for any sign of a threat.  Then she slunk into a booth and sat down.

                Riccardo smiled, admiring Carol.  “Ya know Lawrence, I think I’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

                Lawrence shook his head.  “Oh God.  Here we go.”

                “Things happen for a reason.  He closes a door, he opens a window.  Silver linings and all that jazz.”

                “I’d be careful with this one, Riccardo.  She walks like she’s got a bad attitude.”

                Riccardo stood up, grinning deviously.  “That’s okay.  I like ’em feisty.  Makes it more challenging for me.”

                Riccardo strutted across the room, set his beer on Carol’s table and sat beside her.  Carol raised her head, glowering.  The scent of cheap cologne and alcohol drifted down from him like a cloud of pesticide from a crop-duster.

                “Hey, little lady.  Are you all alone tonight?”

                “Go away.”

                “Don’t be that way.  You’ve got a real nice figure, you know.”  His had stretched towards her shoulder.  “Maybe some guys can’t see it, but I can.”

                The second he touched Carol, it was like he dropped his hand on a detonator.  With a snarl of fury, she seized him by his shirt, lifted him from his seat and hurled him across the room.  Riccardo’s eyes bulged, his hands grasping at air as he hit the floor, slid like a hockey puck and slammed into the far wall.  The bartender raised his hands and flinched as a picture fell from the wall and broke over Riccardo’s head.  Riccardo swore as broken glass sliced open a cut in his face.  Lawrence leapt from his seat, drew his bowie knife and charged Carol.  As he swung for her neck, a dark blur shot from Carol’s wrist, and he dropped the knife, clutching his bleeding arm and staring at a puncture wound the size of a dime.”

                “GAH!” he screamed.  “What the hell was that!?”

                He stared, horrified, as Carol advanced, a spike protruding from either arm, gritting her teeth.

                “You two should have left me alone when I gave you the chance.”

                Abruptly someone at the door whistled.  Carol stopped and turned.  Peacock stood in the door way, tipping her hat.

                “I ain’t interrupting anything, am I?”

                Carol turned back.  “Don’t try to stop me, Peacock.”

                Peacock raised an eyebrow.  “Stop you?  Pffft, what the hell made you think I came here to stop you?”  She casually crossed the bar, sat on a stool and pulled a bag of popcorn out of her hat.  “You feel like splattering a couple of Medici goons in front of an impressionable youth, you go right on ahead, Stitches.”

                Carol paused, confused, then turned back to Riccardo and Lawrence.  “Get out of my sight.”

                In an instant, the two wounded mafioso bolted out the door and vanished.  Carol sighed and took a seat next to Peacock.

                Peacock lit up a cigar and smiled smugly at the bartender.  “Hey, Barkeep!  Gimme a fifth of Old Crow on the rocks with a twist of lemon and two shakes of grenadine.”

                “We don’t serve liquor to minors.”  He paused.  “Also, there’s no smoking.”

                Peacock scowled and put her cigar out on the counter, grumbling.  “Rassum frassum…”

                Carol drummed her fingers.  “Why are you here?”

                “Seemed like a good place to mope around feeling sorry for yourself, so I figured I’d find you here.”

                “I _mean_ , why are you looking for me?”  
                Peacock shook her head.  “Come on, Stitches.  Don’t play dumb.  You’ve been with Lab 8 for months now.  You’re basically family.  You didn’t really think we’d all just let you skeedaddle off without a word, did you?”

                Carol didn’t answer.

                Peacock’s tone became serious.  “We care about you, Carol.  Most of all, _she_ cares about you.  Do you even know what a mess Filia was when she got back and told us you were gone?”

                Carol hung her head.  “It’s for the best this way.”

                “For the best, my butt.”

                “Don’t pretend to understand this!” Carol snapped.  “I… I can’t stay with Filia any more.  I can’t let myself put her in danger.”

                Peacock raised an eyebrow.  “Being _alive_ is being in danger.  Especially in New Merididan.  Maybe I don’t understand everything, but even a moron like me can recognize what you two had.”  She pointed a bulbous, white-gloved finger at Carol’s face.  “You love each other.  Nobody knows how long they’re gonna be here, but you two had something real beautiful going on.  You can’t let that go.”

                “I just can’t… I can’t risk her getting hurt because of me.”

                Peacock slammed her fist against the counter, scowling.  “I might be missing my eyes, but you’re the one who’s blind!  Don’t you remember how she stayed with you when you were sick and watched how much pain you were in?  You don’t think _that_ hurt her!?  Of course it hurt!  It would have hurt even worse if you’d died, and she _knew_ that.  She stayed with you anyways because she loved you.  She _chose_ you, Carol.  It’s just…” her voice dropped.  “I just don’t think it’s fair of you to take that choice away from her.”

                Carol paused, her eyes watering, her expression blank.

                Peacock stood up and turned towards the door.  “Look, I’m not going to try to tell you what you hafta do.  Only stuffy old farts do that, but I lost somebody I really cared about not too long ago.  I thought we had more time left than we did and…”  Peacock shook her head.  “I dunno what the hell I’m tryin’ to say here.  I guess I wish I’d been nicer to him, and I don’t want you to end up doing something you regret, too.”  She pushed open the door.  “I hope this talk meant something to you.  See you later, Stitches.  I hope.”

                The door closed.

*   *   *

                It was morning now.  Carol had been standing outside Lab 8’s doors for almost half an hour.  It was not merely the difficulty she had in determining what she was going to say that kept her so long, it was the terror of uncertainty.   She tried to calm herself and remember how happy Filia had always been around her.  Images of Filia’s smiles danced around her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.  It would be fine.  Filia would be so happy to see her it wouldn’t matter what she said.  They would be together again.  That was all that mattered.

                Inside, the members of Lab 8 were dragging along at a sluggish pace, attending to machinery and experiments.  Filia sat at a little table in the corner, her face buried in her arms, a balled up hankerchief in her hand.  Her shoulders were shaking gently as she sobbed, almost too quietly to hear.  Carol winced.

                She cleared her throat.  “I’m… back, everyone.”

Abruptly, the members of Lab 8 noticed Carol was there, and turned towards her, murmuring.  Filia raised her head, her face red and damp.

Carol awkwardly palmed the back of her head.  “Hey Filia.  I—”

                Filia abruptly hurled her hankerchief at Carol’s face.  It hit her forehead with a wet slap, soaked with tears and snot.

                “WHAT THE HELL, CAROL!?”

                “I’m—”

                “After everything we’ve been through you just flew off without saying a word to me!?  Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

                Carol threw down the hankerchief, scowling.  “Well, excuse me for trying to protect your life!  After you saw what I did to Valentine you were so horrified you could barely speak.”

                “Of course I was horrified!  You were covered in blood, and I’ve never seen anyone die before, and—”

                “Actually,” Sampson muttered, “you might have seen someone die before you lost your—”

                Filia gritted her teeth.  “Not.  The point.  Sampson.”  She whirled at Carol.  “I never would have blamed you for killing Valentine!  She was trying to abduct you again, and she probably would have killed me to do it.  I understood that.  To think you could do something so selfish as to—”

                “What do you mean, selfish?  I was only thinking of you!  It’s my fault you were there when Valentine and Brain Drain attacked and—”

                “And _you_ were the only thing protecting me from Valentine!  If you hadn’t been there—”

                “You wouldn’t have even been attacked in the first place!  I put you in danger, Fili—”

                “I’m a mafia daughter!  I’m already in danger!  There’s probably like twenty different people I don’t even know about who want to kill me, you--” Filia stammered, struggling for an insult, “you stupid… dumb…ASS!”

                Filia and Carol glared at each other, panting and sweater, exhausted from their outbursts.  Slowly, the tension in their bodies drained and their breathing slowed.

                “I missed you a lot,” said Filia.

                Carol smiled slightly.  “I missed you too.”

                Abruptly, and at once, Filia and Carol became aware of the fact that everyone in the room was staring at them.  Their faces reddened and they lowered their eyes.

                “Um.”  Carol scratched her head.  “Sorry about that.  Filia and I are going to go take a walk.”

*   *   *

                The snowy streets outside glistened like diamonds beneath the morning sun.  Carol and Filia walked with their arms linked, held tight against the cold.

                “You really had me scared you know,” said Filia.

                “I know.  I’m sorry.”

                “It’s alright.” She kissed Carol’s cheek.  “You’re not going to do anything like that again, right?”

                Carol nodded, shame-faced.  “That’s right.  I just… Valentine made me doubt who I was.  After the way my parents reacted, I… I guess I just wasn’t ready to accept that I wasn’t a monster.”

                Filia giggled.  “Of course you’re not a monster.  Deep down, you’re Carol and you always were.”

                “Thanks.”  Carol’s eyes watered, and she smiled.  “Thanks for reminding me.”

                She paused, turned and kissed Filia on the lips.  “I’m glad you were still there when I came back.”

                “Of course I was still there, silly.  Did you really think I’d give up on you that easy?”

                After a moment, Carol stepped behind Filia and put her hands around Filia’s tummy, squeezing her tight.  Filia’s warmth grew warmer in Carol’s arms as she blushed and fidgeted.

                “Uh, Carol?  What are you doing?”

                “I want to show you something.”  Carol’s Buer Driver began to spin over her head, driving wind down over her and Filia.

                “Wait what are you… are you’re going to—”

                Carol grinned.  “Yep.  Are you ready?”

                Filia grabbed on tight to Carol’s arms, smiling nervously.  “Okay.  Just don’t let go.”

                “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

                Filia squealed as Carol leapt into the air and flew over the streets.  They rose higher and higher together as the cars and people on the street below them shrank.  They crested the tops of buildings as they soared, laughing against the icy wind.  Soon, even the tips of skyscrapers were beneath them, and all of New Meridian and all the land around it lay furled out before them like a treasure map, their vision filled with dancing neon and their heads filled with a thousand possibilities.  As they floated there over New Meridian in each other’s arms, they felt that together, they could go anywhere.

 

 

_...THAT'S A WRAP!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things I might mention here before we part ways...
> 
> I never imagined I would enjoy writing dialogue for a borderline pedophilic mafia thug, but I actually had a lot of fun with the Riccardo and Lawrence scene. They were two character who never really got a lot of depth or development in the game proper, and I felt I had a lot of freedom for banter.
> 
> Speaking of development... the decision to Peacock of all people be the one to talk Carol in coming back might seem an odd one. In an earlier draft, I had considered having Carol decide to come back on her own. I had also considered having her encounter Filia on her own by random, but both of those ideas just felt kinda lame. I wanted to take a little more time to explore Carol's character outside the context of her relationship with Filia, and it made sense to me that another member of Lab 8 would be looking for here.
> 
> I'm probably a little biased towards Peacock since she was formerly my main, but leaving her characterization as an energetic and impulsive moron seemed a tad unfair. She actually shows a fair range of emotions in her story mode and has quite a bit more depth than she tends to let on... she's also just, really, really fun to write.
> 
> So, where am I going from here? Well, I'm still busy with word, school and writing a novel, but I don't think this will be the end of my foray into fanfic. I've already started a Street Fighter yuri story starring Makoto and Sakura, and have nearly finished the first chapter. Probably gonna be less angsty than this, and shorter, but it's also gonna be a lemon, so if you feel you missed out on fighting game lesbian sex in this story, hopefully the next one will satisfy.
> 
> Thanks again for reading. Until next time, little attack helicopters. ;)


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